New sentencing guidelines for health-and-safety offences take effect

摘要

Revised guidelines for punishing health-and-safety offences in the UK came into force on 1 February. The new guidelines, published by the Sentencing Council in November 2015, allow fines of up to £20M for corporate manslaughter and will apply to all cases sentenced from 1 February, regardless of when the offence took place. The guidelines allow courts to tailor fines to an offender's specific circumstances, taking into account a number of factors. These include an organisation's turnover, profit margin, the impact on employees, or the impact on the organisation's ability to improve conditions.